Puppy Practice

I am sure this doesn't completely fit the definition of normal. But Steph from Adventures in Babywearing was asking for submissions for International Babywearing Week, and I laughingly asked about dachshund wearing since I've been threatening to use Audrey as practice.  Steph lol'd and told me to do it...and that was just the motivation I needed!

I chose the most complicated carrier (and the easiest to wash), and went with the sleepy wrap.  I have to say, the motivation was helpful because this thing usually perplexes me, but within a few minutes I had it wrapped up and ready to go.  Audrey was an eager participant (because anything that puts her close to my face pleases her to no end)...however, that meant that getting a decent picture was incredibly hard as I was trying to smile and show her, and she was simply trying to lick my nose.

In the end, I persevered.  G was laughing at me because I was all, "Oh wait, we're not supporting her neck enough" as I adjusted the wrap.  I'm wearing no make-up, my hair is pulled back and I'm exhausted...kind of like a normal new mom.  And I finally got this wrap down with a month to go!

 

*EDIT* Everyone always comments that they'd love to see more puppy pics...sadly, we try.  But as you can kind of see here those 2 have a chronic case of "wiggly butts" and nearly all photos turn out blurry!

This One

If it says anything, here she is looking at G.

This is my oldest "child" Audrey.  She's a 6 year old mini dachshund who had a nasty tendency to really not particularly like any guy who I allowed near my apt.  Oh, until G.  For G she melts.  In fact, early on, with us curled up cuddling she jumped onto the bed, onto my face, vaulting herself at him.  We were gone 2 years to England, in which time we decided it was best to leave her with my parents (and her cousin or whatnot from the same breeder), but coming home she still loved him.

And she's odd.  She used to sleep on my clothes in college.  She would push her way into my room, drag out clothing bit by bit when I was in classes and curl up on them.  She no longer does this.  Why?  Because it's all about G.  His clothes are what she slept on during his deployment. And what she's chosen since he came home seems to be his shoes.

She's been nearly crawling into his work boots.  She gently undoes the laces a bit, and kind of curls up with them.  Last night she chose his brown casual shoes and crawled on top of them.  And tonight his slippers were most convenient and she's lying on top of them.  Sophie may technically be "his" dog (though she prefers me), but Audrey chose her side long ago and I lost.  I've accepted it like countless mothers before me.  :)

My Babies

The last couple weeks I've been home more, and you can tell a definite change in the pups attitudes.  They've been more well behaved, but also more demanding.  They definitely do the whole "the more they get the more they want" when it comes to attention.  I don't mind.  We've been spending some naps all 3 of us curled up on the sofa (usually with Audrey on a pillow near my tummy, and Sophie curled up behind my knees).  They've come so far as to losing some of their jealousy, and it's cute to watch them play together and curl up together.  Usually the furthest apart they sleep is a foot, and generally looks more like this:

I worry how they're going to handle a new baby.  Sophie has never been around a newborn, only toddlers.  And though Audrey apparently did stellar with my niece, as my mother pointed out, it wasn't her mama's attention being diverted.  Audrey is definitely my wants to be on my lap all the time getting kisses pup, and Sophie prefers my lap as well.  (Yes, the lab likes to sit on my lap... she thinks she's smaller than she is!)  I'm pretty sure I've posted this before, but for example, here she was a year ago on G:

So I'm reading what I can about how to adjust them to a baby.  They'll enjoy it once she's older, as they love sitting beneath a highchair hoping something drops, but the adjustment period might take a while.  It's going to be hard to make it clear there is no jumping up on me, something that we constantly work on with Sophie, but she's a dog who can't even stay lying down any longer than it takes to get the treat before she has to pop back up, tail wagging enough to knock everything off the coffee table.  She's definitely been my baby trainer, as she will probably always be a puppy.  We're also working on learning to not run down the stairs, and to instead walk beside me (so I don't get tripped up).  Surprisingly she's really good at this one. 

Have any of my lovely readers had to adjust to a new baby with animals?  Any tips?  We'll be making sure to give them plenty of love and allowing them to smell her, but I welcome any other advice!

Don't Buy The Cuteness

Having had a lot on my mind, I've been up for nearly 24 hours (with an hour and a half nap in there late last night).  Insanity.  I'd like to sleep, but at this point it isn't happening and I'm blaming 3 people:

Audrey, Sophie, and Max. (yes, technically not people, but not a single one of them seems to realize that.)

These are not innocent faces, no matter how much they try to convince you otherwise. Notice ballsy Max staring the camera down.  He had been pretending to sleep seconds before.

Audrey has decided that anytime she can possibly do so she hops up on the sofa at me like I won't notice her tiny little body leaping at my face.  When I tell her to get down she stares at me and ignores me.  It escalates until I'm halfway up the stairs to the restroom and I use her middle name in my mama voice and suddenly she realizes that if she's still there when I come down she's in super trouble.  Better to get down and then attempt the same thing half an hour later.

Sophie continually keeps putting her head on my ribs or belly, no matter how many lectures she's gotten about a baby being in there.  I'm pretty sure this baby is one day going to haul off and kick her head when she does it.  When not flopping her head down on me (and usually the laptop as well), she's bringing me her gross toy to throw, and getting beat up by Max (literally... he grabbed her head tonight and began twisting in some sick sibling game I don't understand). 

And Max... hmm.  Max is co-dependent, an odd cat.  He does not like me to go anywhere without him, even if I have to use the restroom. (which, hello, I'm pregnant, so this happens a lot.)  He chases me up the stairs, disappears (though I can hear his little kitty breathing in the dark), and then either bounds after me as I go down or tries to kill me by lying across a step I can't see in the dark.  Jerk.

All of this coupled with the fact that as I was changing into pjs I got a good look at my belly, and thought, "Damn."  From the front I haven't put anything (weight wise) on my hips, or waist, so it's this sort of odd thing to kind of see the 3-d with my belly protruding.  Almost like a mullet... normal in the front, party from the side.  She's been super active all day long, including enough that G got to see my belly bounce up while on Skype.  Active baby means mama has a hard time concentrating on forcing herself to sleep.  She's not even out in the real world and she's already distracting me!

So, random post, slightly insane, but it what it is.

Taking The Sun When It Comes

 Gratuitous Photo of Sophie....She likes lying in front of the front door....even when there is a newspaper there!

This afternoon my friend calls me and tells me, "It's sunny now, it should be for a few more hours, and then the rain is coming."  We had planned to walk the dogs this afternoon, but the forecast was calling for rain, so we figured it was out.  I called her back, told her I could be ready in less than an hour, and we agreed to meet for coffee and a walk.

Now, lemme tell ya....I'm not sure I'm going to make it as a parent.  Just trying to get the 2 dogs rounded up was exhausting enough....and I still forgot the doggie bags (for cleanup).  Thank goodness she brought some along!  When I tried to put Sophie's harness on, Audrey jumped all over her trying to get in it.  So I finally put Audrey's on, and realized I had put Sophie's on wrong....I take it off, but when I go to put it back on...she was having none of it.  I think she thought she was in for one of our long road trips back home, which she hates. 

We get to the cafe, the one table out front was open, so I grab it.  We get our coffee, Audrey goes in my lap, and Sophie is happy as a clam.  She really, REALLY loves people, and a ton of people wanted to pet her.  Audrey on the other hand frequently had my fingers around her snout because she is not particularly fond of strangers, and definitely not a fan of other dogs she doesn't know.  Imagine 10 lbs. of ferociousness.  It's pathetic.  However when a dog (who clearly was a wolf mix) came to say hello she was happy to meet her.  Go figure.  And Audrey gladly let a little girl stroke her for a long while.  Sophie on the other hand cried every time people went away.  And she really loves other dogs and met about a dozen.

We took off on a long walk, and they enjoyed it.  At one point about 6 kids ranging from 2-4 were in a group with 2 moms and while Audrey stayed a bit back, Sophie was quite happy to make friends with each and every one of them.  And one little boy, once they moved on, came running back to pet her one last time!  We stopped and discussed gardening with one couple.  We waved to 2 old ladies playing cards on a porch.  And for the last leg of the trip, I picked Audrey up and carried her because she was beginning to lag behind, exhaustion set in.  In the car she stretched out across the front seat and fell asleep.

I love taking them for a walk.  However, it's hard with 2.  Audrey's little legs stop to smell everything, and Sophie tries to walk me!  Thank goodness by the time Jen had her she had calmed down (people!  smells! other dogs!) and walked easily with her.  We're planning on walking them a few times a week once summer is here, and I know they're going to love that.  Hopefully the sun will shine and these two will learn that the car is a good place again.  (Audrey never seems to mind, really, but then again she likes sitting on my lap on long car trips when G is driving.)

Tres Amusant

My dogs are like my kids.  I mean, sure I'm a horrible mother to them, never feeding them at the times they would like, and telling them to "go lie down" an awful lot.  But they're my babies.  Audrey, the mini dachshund is coming up on her 6th birthday, and Sophie, the labrador, will be 4 this June.  Usually they ignore one another, though I've noticed that they tend to sleep no more than a foot apart, even when they have a whole room.

But now it's 1 a.m. and I am thinking, "who spiked her water?" about Audrey because she suddenly became very frisky and was hopping about, getting down on her front paws and kind of trying to start something with Sophie.....who to her credit looked a bit bewildered.  They do not really play together ever, with the exception of occasionally running in circles in the kitchen while we're cooking.  And Audrey is not usually the playful type.

My friends and I are getting our families together for a picnic and walk on Sunday and the pooches are coming with.  I think they're going to be thrilled to get out of the house and burn some energy....and I'm just thrilled by friend's boyfriend is a strong enough guy to handle Sophie!  I need to get them out more, but the two of them with me is a bit of a difficult puzzle. 

Marshmallows

You would think food month was still happening with how busy my kitchen has been.  Last night I made homemade marshmallows.  And though at one point I was positive that they were indeed not going to turn out and I was going to end up with marshmallow goo, we finally whipped them into shape and after letting them sit overnight we cut them into beautiful squares today.  

 These are about the size of regular full size marshmallows.

I also had some top parts that were all misshaped because the marshmallows set up firm quicker than I could spread it, so I cut those off and cut these strips into tiny marshmallows for hot cocoa.  Oh. My. God.  These marshmallows are so much better than the ones you buy in store.  They melted into the hot cocoa, but not to the point of disappearing.  And they tasted so delightful I was in winter heaven!

I also whipped up my first ever batch of hard candy!  I had made this once at my ecole (french school) when I was very young, but the idea of making it at home terrified me.  We ended up with quite a large batch of candy that tastes like old school orange lollipops, even though I halved it.  I put some in a Bonne Maman jar to photograph, but we have enough for at least 3 jars!  

And apparently we should just re-name our home the candy shop because I'm planning on doing caramels and fudge today as well.....and perhaps some gingerbread if I can find the time.  I have bread rising, I'm planning on doing cabbage and bacon for dinner.  And Lord have mercy I've run out of sugar!  So we'll be running to the store to pick some of that up for the cooking!  Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of winter! (I know technically it's still fall, but I consider December winter, so eh.)

*Oh, and for those who are worried Audrey is all alone curled up....never fear!  Sophie jumped up with her at one point (though she's not allowed on the sofa normally and instantly jumped down when she saw us), and Max decided lying with her was a very good idea!

Sunday Dinner

Last night we ended up running around on errands so late we didn't have time to make the Shepherd's pie.  So today after volunteering to help at the Salvation Army (so fun, I recommend others try it out....they need lots of volunteers this time of year!) we skipped going out to lunch with everyone and instead came home and made a late lunch/dinner of Shepherd's pie.  Only I realized that I didn't have the 4 cups of mashed potatoes it called for.  Eek!  Suddenly, I remembered that you can make mashed "potatoes" with cauliflower, and as we had two heads that needed to be used soon I made them and added them to the potatoes, mashing it all up.  Let me say, we'll never do it without cauliflower!  It was delicious and added a great flavor to the dish (as well as having something like an 1/8 of the calories!).  I boiled up some frozen peas and we had a very traditional meal. 

While preparing the frozen peas I sprayed frozen peas all over my kitchen floor.  As G went to get the broom, our two living rumbas decided to just simply eat it all.  Every last pea they could find, with Audrey even sticking her snout partially under the oven to get to some.  Our dogs love their veggies!  After we ate I tore up some left over turkey and added the leftover peas and gave them a treat.  They both devoured it, which pleases me since it's super healthy for them!

Audrey ate some poisonous berries.  She's had an upset stomach and some neurological problems (she's walked like a drunken sailor).  Fortunately it seems that if it hasn't killed her yet she'll be fine as soon as it's worked itself out of her system (she was up and running fine earlier today).  However as our baby she's been carried all over the house and tucked in under a blanket on a pillow whenever we leave.  G's been terrified, but as there hasn't been anything to do but wait and hope the crazy lil dog didn't eat too much of it I've remained as calm as a mama can.  She does make an adorable patient!

So now we're busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen, with it going into tomorrow.  I have bread to bake but I think that will have to wait until tomorrow morning, as we've got marshmallows to whip up before I fall asleep!

The Puppies

We brought home new toys for them and they played until they wore out!

Grab the toys, Maman's looking!

Ha!  I got Sophie's toy and now I am lying next to it, bored, daring her to try and get it!

Mummy, are you about through taking pics?

We also bought them both new collars, and after seeing Sophie get hers Audrey was chomping at the bit for her collar, leaping at me with her neck stretched!

What We Needed

A lazy weekend.  G took Friday off so we would have a 3 day weekend, and boy did we live it up!  (or, not).  In fact we had plans to go out tonight, but I woke up exhausted (after 8 hours of sleep!) and feeling a bit under the weather, so we cancelled those plans and at best are hitting up some Indian food tonight.  If ever you feel a bit under the weather, I recommend Indian food, the spices and hot tea can really help!


Thursday was date night, only both of us were kinda dead tired (but not sleepy).  G had planned to order a pizza (something I had been craving) and us dancing to a playlist he made and playing board games.  Instead I made us cheesy scrambled eggs which I put homemade salsa on, so we weren't hungry for pizza later.  Needing coffee late that night we hopped in the car to go to the diner, and ended up car dancing and singing along with the radio at the top of our lungs to songs like Tic Toc and ones by Lady Gaga.  The best part of this adventure?  I had the brilliant idea to take along scrabble and play at the diner....best. idea. ever. So scrabble and coffee it was, and we had a blast (and amused the others in the diner as well).  I kicked his butt as usual.

289 to 225, closer than normal!

Yesterday was our 1 year anniversary from our marriage in the church, so we said we were going to cheat on Lent and go to Chili's because we still had a gift card from my brother from Christmas (thanks, Brian!).  I am on a health kick, so I go my quesadilla salad where I add extra of the garnishes (black beans, corn, pico de gallo and lots of extra cilantro).  By adding all that extra healthy flavor, I use very little dressing (and half of my quesadillas go to G).  We walked around the mall, bought me some Calvin Klein pants for $10 that I am planning to wear when I help tack on G's Staff Sgt. rank, and a few office things at TJMaxx.  Garret also insisted I pick up a big mug that says:

I'm going to get a ceramic pen to cross out the "future" and it's my big mug of coffee for when I'm working!  (it's a running joke, because I certainly am not a trophy wife, but some people assume...)


The best part of the whole weekend (so far) has been how we have spent our mornings:

Curled up in bed.

Until Sophie joined us.

Audrey was not amused.

So she hopped on G to join in on the fun!

Oh the joy of having two stubborn, opinionated, entitled pups!

Hope everyone else is having as good of a weekend!  It's gorgeous here, with the sun out.  I do so much better when it's not grey day in and day out!